All posts tagged "Surfing"

12/23/2013

In 2014, a plume of ocean-borne radiation, originating from the Fukushima meltdown, will hit the west coast of the U.S. Initial sources warned that this could be an extremely dangerous concentration of radionuclides, but recent research and new sources have since said there is nothing to fear.

One of the researchers trying to set the record straight is Henrieta Dulaiova, an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii’s department of geology and geophysics. Dulaiova holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography and a Master of Sciences in Nuclear Chemistry and has been studying the ocean-borne radiation from Fukushima since the disaster began in 2011.

We spoke with Dulaiova over the phone about her research, being accused of working for the government, how much Americans should worry, and background radiation levels.We asked a person on the bus what he would want to know about a plume of ocean-borne radiation hitting the West Coast. He said, “How long do I have to live?” Can you answer that question?

Honestly [laughs], there aren’t negative health effects that he can expect. The radiation will not get on the land. The questions I get most often in Hawaii are whether swimming or surfing in the ocean will be safe, which they are. He should be fine, which is why we wanted to dispute the initial claims that said otherwise.

07/02/2013

This week, we're celebrating 4th of July by sharing some of our favorite red, white, and blue places. Yesterday, we listed natural red rock formations. Today, it's time to head to the beach.

The Founding Fathers collaborated long and hard to give us that Declaration, and all that independence-building must've worked up quite a patriotic sweat. We think they had the right to "declare" some R&R afterward. Of course, we're not sure how they actually recuperated after the hard work was done, but whenever we need an escape, we head to one of these gorgeous beaches.

How many of these white-sand beaches have you visited?

1. St. George Island State Park, Florida

July is a great month to visit this 28-mile-long island; a low of 72 degrees perfectly complements a swim in the clear gulf waters. The park offers nine miles of award-winning beaches, with four miles accessible only by foot or by permitted vehicles. Can't make it this month? The park holds its annual coastal clean-up in September. After all, the only thing better than enjoying this beach is doing your part to make sure that others can, too.

07/12/2012

Dun-dun. . . dun-dun. . . . Last weekend, a Cape Cod kayaker had a thrilling experience when he turned around to see a 10-foot great white shark trailing a little too close to his kayak. While the man — and his kayak — made it out of the water fine, another kayaker in Santa Cruz, California wasn't so lucky.

Don't worry! The west-coaster was totally fine too. His kayak, on the other hand, may need a little TLC after this curious great white got a taste of its plastic underside, leaving a few bite mark souvenirs.

These aren't the only times a shark has gone after a kayak; back in May near Cambria, California, a man was knocked out of his kayak by a great white that left a 20-inch bite in the side of the boat.

Why so many shark sightings? Some say it's because of the booming seal population (they're now a protected species). Or maybe sharks are just making a comeback. In any case, all of these recent shark encounters have left the kayakers with a great story to share and a happy ending.

--image by istockphoto/demarfa

--Allison Montroy is an editorial intern for Sierra and a journalism student at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.

04/19/2012

There are times you have found yourself sitting at your computer for 10 hours, having walked between the kitchen and your desk every few minutes to "reset" (or maybe to eat more handfuls of almonds and chocolate chips), wondering when you'll next get outside.

So you shrug and type "surfing" into Vimeo to see how the other half lives, or at the very least, those who have access to the Pacific Ocean. Your jaw drops when you click on this video, and you can't wait to get back on your board.

--Image from North*

Benita Hussain is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared in GOOD, Women's Adventure Magazine and Matador Sports, among others. With degrees from Cornell University and Fordham Law School, she's also a part-time lawyer and yoga teacher that surfs, climbs and travels to do both. Twitter: @hussainity.

03/30/2012

Kyle Thiermann is a 21-year-old professional surfer whose organization Surfing for Change is helping reshape what it means to be both a citizen athlete and a young activist in a modern world.

The TED speaker and 2011 Brower Youth Award winner's media campaigns center around specific threats at famous surf spots — including his current project against a planned nuclear plant at Jefferies Bay, South Africa — and how to participate in these seemingly distant issues on a more local basis.

In the first of our Q&A series with athletes committed to environmental and related social issues, we talked to Kyle about how surfing and travel has shaped his dedication to his work.

SIERRA: When did you start surfing, and how has it influenced your environmental and social justice activism?

KT: I started surfing every day when I was 11. I’m the youngest of five kids, and we all surfed. I just wanted to be like them so I got on a surfboard as quickly as I could.

I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world from a pretty young age and see amazing places. A lot of the cultures I visited were what influenced me to adopt my outlook, [that] if you can help you should.

03/15/2012

The world of outdoor sports blew up this past week, showing us once more why pushing ourselves to the limits can let us experience the world in a way that few other people get to. Good thing the sponsors are there with full camera crews to help out. Watch the videos below!

1. Tao Berman surfs the biggest wave in a kayak.

"I've always admired what big wave surfers can do," says Red-Bull-sponsored white water kayaker Tao Berman in his video, "And that's pretty much how it began." Referring to his three-year quest to kayak big waves, Tao, who already holds the world record for biggest waterfall kayak drop, hit it on March 11, at Oregon's Nellscott Reef. Deciding to retire once he achieved this goal, he was towed into and rode a 40-foot wave with his specially-designed kayak, thus ending his paddling career with a bomb.

2. Polish team completes winter summit of Gasherbrum I (and now re-ascends on a rescue mission).

09/20/2011

The surf looks different when you paddle out standing up. It all looks different, especially things that sway and dart and eat each other underwater--leathery bull kelp, Crayola starfish, bubbly sea grapes, the occasional seal torpedo. Sometimes I wonder if my change in perspective would apply as well to sharks.

For 40 years I'd been paddling a surfboard the traditional way: on my belly, eyes at sea level, attention tuned to the telltale shadow play of incoming swell. Then last summer, risking ridicule from my too-cool brethren, I bought a stand-up paddleboard (SUP), a craft streamlined for wave riding but as stable as a fishing dock when motionless. At ten feet long, two feet wide, and five inches thick, it has about four times the mass of my everyday board. The idea is to stay on your feet from launch to landing, propelling through the water with a paddle apparently purloined from a gondola.

I took up SUPing because several people (including Laird Hamilton, surfing's Charles Atlas) raved about the workout it provides. I should note that I hate working out. I've avoided inheriting my father's apple-on-a-stick physique only because my pastime of choice--surfing--happens to require upper-body effort. So SUPing seemed ideal: Stay healthy, get strong, have fun.

The first few sessions left me frustrated and sore. Imagine balancing for an hour on an exercise ball while doing ab-enhancing arm pulls; the post-session trudge from shore to car had never felt so long. But once the tumblers aligned, I surged with that adolescent wave lust that keeps surfers at sea long after their arms beg for rest. My stomach muscles strengthened. My posture straightened. I slept better.

Because it glides like a canoe, the stand-up board has taken me places where traditional surfers rarely ride. My favorite is a cove I'd watched for years from my living room window, never imagining its soft waves were worth the extended kelp-obstructed paddle or the area's history of "encounters" with white sharks.

During the long, slow paddle to and from the break, I began studying heretofore unnoticed sea life below. It shamed me to realize I couldn't identify things I'd been seeing for decades. Contrite, I endeavored to learn both genus and species: bat stars and kelp crabs and all manner of saltwater algae--sea palms, bladder wrack, feather boa, and dead man's fingers, which looks all squishy and cute until you find out its name.

Although I try not to let myself think about the sharks -- reasoning, probably naively, that balancing upright on a five-inch-thick plank lessens one's chances of getting fatally chomped -- it's impossible to wash away thoughts of apex predators in a cove so teeming with life. But I find some small comfort in this: If Carcharodon carcharias ever bursts up from the bottom to sup on my SUP, at least now I'll know its true name.

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